The Collingwood Clippers Swim Club has stepped up to ensure swimmers at the Centennial Aquatic Centre get off to a good start.
The club, which boasts 200 members and is one of the largest competitive clubs north of Toronto, contributed $52,000 to purchase new starting blocks for the facility. The new blocks meet the World Aquatics guidelines and are the same Swiss Timing blocks found at the Pan Am Centres in Toronto and other high-performance facilities across the country.
The money was raised through corporate sponsorships, local donations and fundraising by swim team members, friends and families in support of their upcoming swim-a-thon. Derek Crespy Broker Re/Max Four Seasons, Grayley Electric, Canopy Media, Tatham Engineering, Collingwood Optimist Club and Fiberprotect, as well as a sizable donation from local the Robert and Margaret Donaldson Family Foundation helped to fund the upgrades.
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“The addition of the new starting blocks has been made possible through the unwavering passion and commitment of many dedicated volunteers, coaches and community members as well as our generous financial donors,” said club president Naomi Paterson. “With the new starting blocks, we’ve not only enhanced the facility, but we’ve also made an investment in the dreams and aspirations of the entire Collingwood swimming community. An effective start to a race can help shave crucial time off an athlete’s swim and be the deciding factor in achieving a goal, time standard, or broken record. We look forward to watching our community swim teams dive in, dream big, and achieve beyond.”
In addition to the Collingwood Clippers, other user groups and swimmers will benefit from these enhancements to the facility, including Georgian Bay Squall masters team and local high school swim teams.
“Our previous blocks were starting to require repairs. We were having to order in parts to replace them,” said Michelle Findlay, manager of recreation services. “The Clippers decided they wanted to donate new starting blocks and there’s less ability for them to break. We hope that their initiative to independently raise funds for pool improvements will inspire others in the community to do the same. The benefit of these improvements will be enjoyed by many patrons of the Centennial Aquatic Centre.”
is a reporter at The Connection, covering Collingwood and The Blue Mountains You can reach him at jedwards@simcoe.com. Follow Simcoe.com on X, formerly Twitter.
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